Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-nine

MINNESOTA 9, NEW YORK 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, August 26.

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer (his twentieth) and two doubles, scoring three times.  Jimmie Hall was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on ten hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Clete Boyer was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifteenth.  Tom Tresh was 3-for-4.  Bobby Richardson was 2-for-4.

The game:  Jerry Kindall singled in a run in the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Boyer homered leading off the third to tie it 1-1, but the Twins scored single runs in the third, fourth, and fifth to go ahead 4-1.  Allison hit a two-run homer in the seventh and the Twins scored three in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

Of note:  Sandy Valdespino was 0-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and a run.  Earl Battey was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Record:  The Twins clinched a winning record, going to 82-47.  Chicago lost to Baltimore, so the Twins' lead went up to 8.5 games.

Notes:  No Killebrew, no Oliva, no problem.  Valdespino took Tony O's place in right, Hall batted third, Battey fourth, and Don Mincher fifth...Battey's average went to .304...In addition to pitching a complete game, Kaat went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .240...The Yankees' starting pitcher was Jack Cullen, whom I'd never heard of.  He had made two appearances for them as a September call-up in 1962, but did not get back to the majors until late July of 1965, when he was placed in the Yankees' rotation.  This was the sixth of nine starts he would make.  Four of the first five were very good.  In fact, in the start before this one he threw a three-hit shutout in Baltimore.  This day, though, he would give up three runs on eight hits and two walks in just 3.1 innings.  He bounced back with a complete game 2-1 win over California on August 30, but that would be his last good major league start.  He made two poor starts in September and finished the season in the bullpen.  He started in 1966 in the Yankee bullpen and didn't do badly, but was shipped out in early May, never to return to the big leagues.  He pitched in AAA for the Dodgers and Braves before ending his playing career after the 1970 season.  He went to the same high school as umpire Phil Cuzzi.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-eight

MINNESOTA 5, NEW YORK 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, August 25.

Batting stars:  Rich Rollins was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.  Bob Allison was 1-for-4 with a home run, his nineteenth.  Joe Nossek was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Pitching star:  Jim Merritt pitched 8.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Elston Howard was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his sixth) and a walk, scoring twice.  Tom Tresh was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-first) and two runs.  Bill Stafford struck out one in a perfect inning.

The game:  Allison homered in the fourth and Nossek delivered a two-out RBI double in the fifth to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  In the seventh, Tresh homered and Hector Lopez later hit a sacrifice fly to tie it 2-2.  In the bottom of the seventh, Rollins had a two-run triple and Earl Battey a run-scoring double to give the Twins a 5-2 lead.  They needed all those runs, as Howard hit a two-run homer with one out in the ninth to cut the margin to 5-4.  Merritt left and Al Worthington came in.  He gave up a two-out double to Clete Boyer but struck out Ray Barker to end the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-2 with two walks and a run.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-1.  Battey was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Record:  The win made the Twins 81-47.  Chicago lost to Baltimore 2-1, once again giving the Twins a 7.5 game lead.

Notes:  Jimmie Hall did not start, with Andy Kosco playing right and Oliva moving to center.  Oliva left the game after the first inning, which he ended with a ground out.  Nossek then came in to play center.  Oliva would miss the next five games, a tough thing for a team already missing Harmon Killebrew...Oliva continued to lead the team in batting at .311.  Battey was at .304...Elston Howard had his worst year as a Yankee in 1965.  He made the all-star team for the ninth consecutive time, but he hit only .233 and had only nine homers with an OPS of .623.  He bounced back some in 1966 but had a terrible year in 1967, getting traded to Boston during the season.  He would play only one more season after that.  He had a pretty good career, though, winning the MVP in 1963 and reaching the top twenty in balloting four other times.  He also won two Gold Gloves.  He was primarily a catcher, but played 265 games in the outfield and 85 at first base.  He passed away in 1980 at the young age of fifty-one.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-seven

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NEW YORK 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 24.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his fourteenth) and an RBI.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-3 with a triple and a run.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched 7.2 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and two walks with six strikeouts.  Dick Stigman retired all four batters he faced, striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Mel Stottlemyre pitched a complete game, allowing one run on five hits and one walk with two strikeouts.  Elston Howard was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Tom Tresh was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his twentieth.

The game:  The Twins got a man to third base in the first and fourth and the Yankees put a man on third in the third, but there was no score until the sixth.  Valdespino led off the sixth with a triple and scored on an Oliva single to put the Twins on the board with a 1-0 lead.  It looked like the lead might hold up, but in the eighth Mickey Mantle got a two-out single and Tresh followed with a two-run homer.  The Twins put their first two men on in the ninth, but Don Mincher hit into a double play and Rich Rollins popped up to end the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Earl Battey was 0-for-3.

Record:  The Twins dropped to 80-47.  The White Sox beat Baltimore 6-5, so the lead fell to 6.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva raised his average to .312.  Battey fell to .305...Bob Allison was again out of the lineup, with Valdespino taking his place...I don't remember Tom Tresh as a very good hitter, but he was for about five years.  He was Rookie of the Year in 1962 at age twenty-three, was on the all-star team that year and again in 1963, and received all-star votes in both those years and again from 1965-66.  He also won a Gold Glove in 1965.  From 1962-66 he hit .264/.341/.442 with 114 home runs, numbers which are even better when you put them in the context of the 1960s.  In spring training of 1967, however, he suffered a knee injury.  The Yankees told him to play through it, an order that basically destroyed his career.  He fell off rapidly, hitting just .219 in 1967 and .195 in 1968  He was traded to Detroit in 1969 and was out of baseball after that season.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-six

MINNESOTA 4, NEW YORK 3 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Monday, August 23.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-5 with a home run (his sixteenth) and two runs.  Earl Battey was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run.  Bob Allison was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run.

Pitching stars:  Mudcat Grant pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts.  Dick Stigman pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk with one strikeout.  Al Worthington struck out two in a scoreless inning despite giving up one hit and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Whitey Ford pitched 8.1 innings, allowing three runs on ten hits and one walk with six strikeouts.  Clete Boyer was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fourteenth), a stolen base (his third), and a walk.  Roger Repoz was 2-for-4 with a run.

The game:  It was close all the way.  Versalles homered in the third to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Each team scored in the sixth, leaving the Twins up 2-1.  Boyer hit a two-out two-run homer in the seventh to give the Yankees their first lead of the game at 3-2.  The Twins had two out in the bottom of the ninth when Tony Oliva delivered an RBI double to tie it 3-3.  The Yankees loaded the bases in the tenth, but did not score.  In the bottom of the tenth, Allison and Don Mincher each walked to put men on first and second with none out.  A strikeout followed, but then Jerry Kindall came through with an RBI single to end the game.

Of note:  Rich Rollins was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Oliva was 1-for-5 with an RBI.

Record:  The win made the Twins 80-46.  The White Sox lost to Baltimore in twelve innings, so Minnesota's lead increased to  7.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva's average went to .310, while Battey went to .308...Roger Repoz was supposed to be "the next Mickey Mantle".  That would be too much for anyone, and it was too much for Repoz.  He spent all or part of nine seasons in the majors,  His career numbers were .224/.314/.390 with 82 home runs.  His career high in homers was eighteen in 1970.  Still, he played in 831 major league games and had 2,145 at-bats, and that's a lot more than a lot of people can say.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-five

CALIFORNIA 4, MINNESOTA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Sunday, August 22.

Batting stars:  Jim Kaat was 2-for-2.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-1 with an RBI.  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-4 with a run and a stolen base, his seventeenth.

Pitching star:  Mel Nelson pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Dean Chance pitched a complete game, allowing one run on six hits and no walks with eight strikeouts.  Chance was also 1-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.  Jim Piersall was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his second.

The game:  Versalles led off the game with a single, stole second, and scored on an Oliva single.  The lead held until the fifth, when Paul Schall doubled and Piersall hit a two-run homer to give the Angels the lead 2-1.  With the bases loaded and two out in the sixth, Chance delivered a two-run single to right to make it 4-1.  The Twins got only one hit after that.

Of note:  Sandy Valdespino was 0-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4.  Earl Battey was 0-for-4.  Jim Kaat struck out six in 5.2 innings but gave up four runs on eight hits and one walk.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 79-46.  The White Sox swept a doubleheader from Kansas City, so they cut the Twins' lead to 6.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva left the game immediately after his RBI single in the first inning.  Bob Allison, who was not starting, took his place in right field.  Valdespino was in left...Oliva regained the team batting lead at .311.  Battey fell to .309...Dean Chance was a fine pitcher, twice winning twenty games and winning the Cy Young Award in 1964, when he led the league in wins (20), ERA (1.65), complete games (15), shutouts (11), and innings (278.1).  He was, however, a notoriously bad batter.  He batted over .100 only once in his career, in his Cy Young season of 1964.  He holds the record for worst batting average among players with more than 500 at-bats (.066).  One can only imagine the cheering when he delivered a clutch two-run single in this game.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-Four

MINNESOTA 4, CALIFORNIA 2 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Saturday, August 21.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a stolen base (his sixteenth) and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a run and two RBIs.  Earl Battey was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Pitching star:  Jim Merritt struck out seven in seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Fred Newman struck out seven in seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk.  Bobby Knoop was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Albie Pearson was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

The game:  Each team had only two hits in the first five innings.  With one out in the sixth, though, the Twins got singles from Versalles, Sandy Valdespino, and Oliva and later got a two-run single-plus-error from Battey to go ahead 3-0.  Knoop doubled in a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 3-1.  in the eighth, Versalles singled, stole second, went to third on a bunt, and scored on an Oliva sacrifice fly to give the Twins a 4-1 advantage.  Pearson had a two-out RBI double in the ninth to make it 4-2 and bring the tying run up to bat, but Jim Fregosi popped up to short to end the game.

Of note:  Valdespino was 1-for-3 with a run.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4.

Record:  The win boosted the Twins to 79-45.  Chicago defeated Kansas City and Detroit lost to Boston, so the White Sox moved back into sole possession of second place, eight games back.

Notes:  Valdespino, who saw a lot of playing time in August, replaced Bob Allison...Battey once again took over the team batting lead at .313.  Oliva went to .310.  Hall fell below .300 at .297...The Angels used seven bench players, not counting pitcher Marcellino Lopez who was a pinch-runner.  When the last time, other than a September game, a team even had seven bench players?...All of the bench players were used in the seventh inning or later.  For the record, they were Lou Clinton (PH), Joe Koppe (PH), Tom Satriano (C-3B), Willie Smith (PH), Tom Egan (C), ex-Twin Vic Power (1B), and Al Spangler (PH).

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-three

MINNESOTA 3, CALIFORNIA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Friday, August 20 (Game 2 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Rich Rollins was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.  Andy Kosco was 1-for-3 with an RBI.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-1 with an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts.  Johnny Klippstein struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up only a walk.

Opposition stars:  George Brunet pitched 8.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts.  Jose Cardenal was 1-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh) and a walk.  Bobby Knoop was 2-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  Cardenal homered leading off the bottom of the third to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.  The Twins managed only three singles in the first eight innings, and after a one-out single by Kosco in the fourth the next fourteen Twins were retired.  In the ninth, however, Zoilo Versalles led off with a single and Rollins doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  Tony Oliva hit a fielder's choice that did not result in an out, scoring Versalles to tie the score.  Kosco followed with a sacrifice fly and Valdespino delivered a pinch-hit RBI single, giving the Twins a 3-1 lead.  California was retired in order in the bottom of the ninth.

Of note:  Versalles was 1-for-4 with a run.  Oliva was 0-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Earl Battey was 1-for-1.

Record:  The win made the Twins 78-45.  Detroit swept a doubleheader from Boston and moved into a tie for second with Chicago, eight games back.

Notes:  Kosco was in right field, with Oliva moving to center.  Jimmie Hall was rested...Battey was removed in the fourth inning due to either injury, illness, or exhaustion--he had been asked to catch both games of a doubleheader in the middle of August.  He would be back in the lineup the next day.  Jerry Zimmerman took over at catcher...Oliva and Battey were now in a tie for the team batting lead, each at .310...Jose Cardenal was in the rookie year of what would turn out to be a long and successful career.  He would be a major league regular from 1965-76 and was a reserve from 1977-80.  His best years would be with the Cubs, for whom he played from 1972-77.  He was named on a few MVP ballots in 1972 and 1973, but his best season was probably 1975, when he batted .317 with an OBP of .397.  He was a major league coach for a number of years as well, with his coaching career ending in 2003 with Cincinnati.  He is a cousin to longtime Oakland infielder Bert Campaneris.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 6

Frank LaPorte (1880)
Babe Ruth (1895)
Jake Levy (1900)
Glenn Wright (1901)
Dale Long (1926)
Smoky Burgess (1927)
Augie Garrido (1939)
Richie Zisk (1949)
Larry Young (1954)
Bob Wickman (1969)
Chad Allen (1975)

Pitcher Jake Levy had a minor league career that started in 1921 and lasted until 1945.  He played under a variety of names, making it difficult to determine his true record, but he won at least two hundred games.  He was also a good hitter, and early in his career played in the field when he was not pitching.

Augie Garrido is the baseball coach at the University of Texas and has the most coaching wins of anyone in Division I.

Larry Young was a major league umpire from 1983-2007.

You may have heard of that "Babe Ruth" fellow.

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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-two

CALIFORNIA 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Friday, August 20 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base (his thirteenth), scoring once.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Jerry Kindall was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched six innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and no walks with one strikeout.  Al Worthington pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Albie Pearson was 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.  Joe Adcock was 2-for-3 with a home run, his thirteenth.  Jack Sanford pitched six innings, allowing one run on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

The game:  Each team threatened in the first, but there was no scoring until the fourth, when Adcock hit a two-run homer to put the Angels up 2-0.  The Twins got one back in the sixth when Oliva scored from first on a Hall double, but that was as close as the Twins would come.  Hall reached third with one out but was stranded, and in the seventh Pearson singled home an insurance run to make it 3-1.  The Twins threatened in the ninth, getting two out singles from Andy Kosco and Zoilo Versalles, but Sandy Valdespino flied out to end the game.

Of note:  Versalles was 2-for-5.  Valdespino was 0-for-5.  Earl Battey was 0-for-4.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 77-45.  The White Sox defeated Kansas City 3-1, so they continued to trail the Twins by 7.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva took over the team batting lead at .312.  Battey fell to .308.  Hall came back to an even .300...This was the second consecutive doubleheader the Twins had...Valdespino played left in place of Bob Allison...If people remember Albie Pearson at all, it's usually for his size (5'5", 140 lbs.).  He had a solid career, though.  He was the Rookie of the Year for the Senators in 1958.  He was traded to Baltimore in May of 1959 for original Twin Lenny Green, then was selected by the Angels in the expansion draft after the 1960 season.  He had three really good years for them, batting .288 in 1961, leading the league in runs scored in 1962, and batting .304 in 1963.  He made his only all-star appearance that year and received minor consideration for Most Valuable Player.  Unfortunately, back problems, which had bothered him in 1959-60, came back after that.  1965 would be his last good season.  After baseball, he became an ordained minister, established churches and orphanages in Ecuador and Zambia, and also has founded a home for abused, neglected, and abandoned boys in California.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 5

Bill Rariden (1888)
Max Flack (1890)
Roger Peckinpaugh (1891)
Joan Payson (1903)
Jack Murphy (1923)
Don Hoak (1928)
Al Worthington (1929)
Hank Aaron (1934)
Norm Miller (1946)
Mike Heath (1955)
Roberto Alomar (1968)
Eric O'Flaherty (1985)
Mark Hamburger (1987)

Joan Payson was the original owner of the New York Mets.

Jack Murphy was a longtime sportswriter in San Diego who helped bring the Padres to the city.  The baseball stadium was named in his honor for many years until the naming rights were sold.

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